DIG THIS | Hardy succulent book worth the price

Published 11:11 am Saturday, April 26, 2008

Here’s a new book you’ll want to find and purchase for the very affordable price of $19.95. “Hardy succulents — tough plants for every climate” by Gwen Moore Kelaidis and photographed by Saxon Holt. The photos, included on every single page, are exquisite and so clear in detail readers might feel as if they could reach into the page, grab a plant and install it in their own garden right on the spot.

Kelaidis is one of the foremost experts on rock gardening in the United States and was co-owner of Rocky Mountain Rare Plants, a mail-order nursery. She was also editor for 11 years of the “Bulletin of American Rock Garden Society.” She currently owns and operates a garden design installation company in Denver, Colo. Holt is a renowned photographer whose work has appeared in magazines and dozens of books including “Grasses,” also published by Storey.

A wide variety of the succulents shown throughout this book will grow very happily here in our area. And the plants that won’t grow outside here would be quite content growing inside as a house plant.

Chapter titles include Companions and stars; Tiny gems; Containers; Succulent ground covers; Perennial companions; Shrublike selections; and Planting, Propagation and care. Even though Kelaidis is an expert on the subject and can quite easily write for those whose lives have been spent in the study of succulents, she has written the chapters in a way that anyone from novice to expert will enjoy, savor and appreciate each word and the information contained within.

Kelaidis explains how succulents are categorized, how they’re propagated and how to best use them in the landscape. She even explains why a gardener would want to use a tall vertical pot or a low wide pot. “A tall pot, like a sponge held vertically, has a drier zone at the top and reserve of moister soil in the lower half of the soil,” she says explaining that growers in drier climates use this method, even though cactus prefer room to sprawl. Kelaidis says, “Low pots are perfect for most sempervivums and sedums.”

The chapter on ground covers is especially useful for gardeners in our area. Most of the plants shown in the chapter will grow successfully here. The section on perennial companions suggests pairing grasses, low growing sedums and taller flowering plants in the background. Kelaidis also recommends pairing flowering ground covers with sedum ground covers. One photo shows Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ (shades of red, yellow and green) with Veronica liwanensis (purple with white centers). The combination is stunning and would brighten any cloudy gray day here in the Northwest.

A sedum I haven’t found or seen yet but that would grow well here is Sedum tatarinowii. The illustration in the book made me want to rush out and purchase this plant. Leaf edges look as if they’ve been trimmed with pinking shears. Slender twigs support all the rows of leaves turned up toward the very tip of the twigs. The leaves are a delicious dark mint green and Kelaidis recommends planting it with lamb’s ear (Stachys bysantina), large salvias or bear’s breeches (Acanthus). Her descriptions made me lust after something in the dark purple shade to pair with this intriguing sedum.

Anyone fascinated by or wanting to learn more about these multifaceted plants will want to have this book as a treasure and reference in their own library. Check it out at our local Kitsap Regional Libraries or order it from your favorite bookstore.